"The first killer app was VisiCalc. This early spreadsheet turned the Apple II from a hobbyist toy to a business computer. VisiCalc came with room for improvement, though. In addition, a new architecture and operating system, the Intel-based IBM PC and MS-DOS, also needed a spreadsheet to be taken seriously. That spreadsheet, released in early 1983, would be Lotus 1-2-3, and it would change the world. It became the PC's killer app, and the world would never be the same. On May 14, IBM quietly announced the end of the road for 1-2-3, along with Lotus Organizer and the Lotus SmartSuite office suite. Lotus 1-2-3's day is done." Impressive 30 year run.

The dos version is still heavily in use it seems, as the old guard diehards seems to still prefer it for some reasons. All i know is my now elderly mother does all her spreadsheets in lotus for dos and she is so blazingly fast with it that even with a fully graphical spreadsheet program like the ones found in ms office or openoffice i still, to this date has no chance at all at completing most of her tasks on that ancient (in computer terms) dos machine at near her speeds.

It is impressive to watch, almost like an near extinct animal in the wilds.

Sidenote* She does have a newer system but still boots up the old IBM with the series-m keyboard for spreadsheet work even though she has dosbox set up on her brand new laptop. She also claims that her noisy ribbon dot matrix printer produce more long lasting prints.